LINUXTAG

More keynotes on technological and politics, and more room for free projects: this was Linuxtag in its eleventh year. But attendance was down because Europe’s biggest Free Software event charged an admission fee for the first time.

Linuxtag [1] opened its doors to the public on June 22 in Karlsruhe, south Germany, accompanied by a spell of hot summer weather. Europe’s biggest Linux and Free Software event entered its eleventh year, but with a change. For the first time ever, Linux fans were asked to pay an admission fee. Fewer Visitors, More Keynotes It was understood that a change of this magnitude would affect the visitor statistics: Linuxtag 2005 notched up a mere 12,000 visitors compared with 16,000 last year. Andreas Gebhard, the press spokesperson for the organizers, Linuxtag e.V., was still satisfied, saying that the event was more action-packed than ever, with 180 talks in the four days. In addition, the organizers had put an extra 400 square meters of floorspace at the disposal of free software projects.

LinuxTag once again features the best and brightest among open source. More than 10,000 visitors are expected at the Berlin conference starting June 24 and running through June 27. Many free projects are exhibiting. Prizes and a press conference started things off.